Noah from Matawan asks:
“My 42-year-old brother was diagnosed with ALS about 3 years ago. He was doing well initially, but has made a recent decline and is no longer able to live alone. My wife and I have been looking into Assisted Livings, but we are being told he is too young for that environment. Do you have any advice on what we should do to help him?”
Hi Noah! I’m so sorry to hear about your brother and his diagnosis with ALS. As ALS progresses, it does become extremely difficult of course for the person diagnosed, but also the caregivers. Fortunately, there are options for your brother and I would love to help you!
At Allaire Rehab and Nursing, we have a special program specifically for young adults with neurological impairments. The age range for this program is 18-50. Since ALS is a neurodegenerative disease and your brother falls into the age range, he would be a perfect candidate for our Horizon’s program!
We offer physical, occupational and speech therapy to assist your brother with continued range of motion, potential swallowing issues that may arise, spasticity and other ALS related symptoms. In addition to the therapy aspect of our services, we also offer complimentary therapies such as tai chi, yoga, meditation, aroma therapy and reiki.
Allaire also has a wonderful computer lab with assistive technology that will allow your brother to continue to connect socially with friends and family. We have several residents here with limited mobility that are able to use our computers with no issues. For example, one woman, who is now a quadriplegic, worked as a paralegal for several years. Now that she is here, she is still able to volunteer for the attorneys that she worked for using special adaptive equipment designed for her.
We also collaborate with the Caregivers of New Jersey and the NJ Family Resource Center which I can also help you get in touch with. Every individual within our Horizons program is unique and has his/her own needs and goals. We meet with each person regularly to set, assess, and assist in every goal.
I would strongly encourage you Noah to come and see our one of a kind program in action! I truly believe you will be pleasantly surprised by all you see. Please feel free to reach out to me either via email at bgallo@allairehc.com or even on my cell at 732-865-0767 if you have any additional questions and to set up a time to come in. Thank you again for your question Noah!!
Brie Gallo, CBIST is the vice president of operations for Allaire Rehab and nursing center. Please submit all questions to bgallo@allairehc.com
